Mikec won 50m Pistol final, while Italy’s Giordano climbed from 8th to 3rd place

ISSF World Cup Rifle / Pistol · Milan, ITA

The Serbian ace shooter Mikec managed his advantage in the final to finish in first. Meanwhile, the home public supported Italy’s Giuseppe Giordano climbing from the 8th to the 3rd place to win Bronze at the shoot-off.

Serbia’s 28-year old finalist Damir Mikec, won today’s 50m Pistol Men event, in the last day of the 2012 ISSF Rifle & Pistol World Cup in Milan, Italy. The Serbian shooter left few chances to his opponents, walking into the final with a qualification score of 574 points, and a safe head start of six points over his followers.

Shooting 93.9 points in the final, Mikec ended up in first place with an overall score of 667.9 points, and his first ISSF World Cup Gold medal ever, in this event.

“It’s great, I did not mind about the weather. It was raining, but there was no wind. I shot consistently through the whole competition, no mind about that 7.6 shot, the important was to finish in first.” Mikec said.

“2010 has been my best season, with seven final matches between the 50m Pistol and the Air Pistol events. Then, in 2011 I tried to slow down, to take it easy, as I was focusing on 2012 to peak in time for the Olympics. I am happy that my strategy is working.” The Serbian shooter continued.

“I did not make in to the final in London, as I was shooting in first position in the qualification hall and I suffered from the wind, it was almost impossible to shoot there.”

“Now I feel I am ready for the Games. I will compete in the next World Cup Stage in Munich, and then focus on the Olympics.” Milkec concluded, speaking about his plans for the intense months to come.

Today’s Silver medal went to China’s 31-year old Pistol shooter Zhang Tian, who made it to the final round once again, after his successful performance at the ISSF World Cup in London, where he had finished in third. Scoring 568 points during today’s qualification on the lines of the Tiro a Segno Nazionale shooting range in Milan, Zhang built up his medal by shooting 96.6 points in the final round, closing the match with an overall score of 664.6 points.

The battle for the Bronze medal turned out to be the highlight of this final, with the home shooter, Italy’s Giuseppe Giordano, climbing up from the eighth place to finish on the podium.

The 37-year old athlete from Naples, ranked 9th in the world, made it to the final with the lowest qualification score, 561 points, but that was not enough to turn him down. Shooting consistently, he scored 96.2 points in the final, tying Armenia’s Norayr Bakhtamyan in third place with a total score of 657.2 points.

The two finalists, who turned out to be the protagonists of a breathtaking neck and neck race for the podium, met in a shoot-off for the Bronze. Giordano did not miss the chance, shoointg-off his opponents 10.2 to 7.6, to win his second ISSF World Cup Bronze medal since 2011.

“When I walked into the final in eighth place, I was only trying to get through it in a nice way, I did not expect such a result.” Giordano said right after the last shot.

“When I understood that the others were not shooting that good, I tried to climb up. I nailed a few good shots, and I got closer to the podium.” He added.

It was a 10.9, a perfect shot, which boosted his expectations and gave him the final motivation “After I shot that 10.9, I thought I had recovered from a couple of eights I had shot earlier in the final. At that point, I knew I had a chance to finish on the podium. I hanged on there, and I gave all.”

“The shoot-off has been thrilling, I gave my best, and I made it. It feels great, to win on your home turf, with all the support of your teammates and friends.” The Italian shooter concluded.

While Norayr Bakhtamyan finished in fourth, it was Wang Zhiwei, a 23-year old first-time finalist from China, who ended up in fifth with 657.1 points. He was followed by Japan’s Olympic hope Tomoyuki Matsuda, the world rank’s #1 in this event, who finished in sixth with 655.4 points.

The 37-year old American expert Jason Turner finished in seventh with 654.5 points, while his team mate Nickolaus Mowrer, ranked 80th in the world, closed the match in eighth and last place with 651.1 points.